5,475 days

5,475 days

780 weeks

15 years

1.5 decades

That's what we celebrated yesterday

It's an accomplishment I'm really, really proud of. Because you know what? It has been a lot of hard work. A lot. And I know we have a lot of work in front of us. Ben made a video of pictures from all our years. We sat together on the couch last night and cried over God's faithfulness. Because we know the stories behind all those pictures. The tears, the fights, the joy, the hope, the struggle, the good, the bad, the heartache, the victory, the fear, the redemption, the story that God has woven and is weaving. And you know what that is? Living life together.

At every wedding he officiates, Ben tells the bride and groom to turn around and look down the aisle that they will walk down in just a minute. There's no way they know what will happen after they walk down that aisle. But whatever life throws their way, they get to do it together, hand in hand with the Lord. It's my favorite thing he says. He's right.

At the risk of sounding overly sappy (which I am usually not), this was on a card we exchanged:

For the one I'll always love

still love waking up to you every morning

still want to call you to just share the day

still need your kiss before I go to sleep

still thankful for all you do for our family

still happy with the life we've created together

still love you

still want you

still need you

still thankful

and i'm still so happy to be yours

My friend Betsy posted this the other week on her anniversary. I can't stop thinking about it. (She was chosen to pre-read Jen Hatmaker's new book. I'm not salty or anything that she got picked and I didn't.)

"Thousands of times during a life built together, you walk up to a moment and choose. I choose your happiness, your health, your well-being. I choose to build you up rather than strip you away. I choose forgiveness because otherwise we're hopeless. I choose to believe in you. I choose this life we've built together, these kids we've created, this legacy we're forming. I choose God in you and in us making us more like His Son, writing a lovely story with our life together. I choose you and would choose you all over again."  - Jen Hatmaker "For the Love"

 In the words of Brad Paisley: 

Now you're my whole life
Now you're my whole world
I just can't believe
The way I feel about you

 We'll look back someday
At this moment that we're in
And I'll look at you and say
And I thought I loved you then

We've come so far since that day
And I thought I loved you then

orthodontics - round 1

At the ripe old age of 6 3/4 Sophie received her first orthodontic appliance - an expander. The girl has a nice cross bite going on and evidently it's something that needed some attention. I totally forgot to get a "before picture" and now she can't close her mouth all the way. So this is the most recent picture I could find with her cross bite. This was with a freshly pulled tooth front tooth, hence blood on the end of her nose.

 It's always a lovely experience to have about seven things in your mouth at one time.

But, as always, she's a real champ.

She thought it was really cool for about 2 hours.

Then she realized that she still had to eat and stuff got stuck in it. Plus she was slobbering and slurping all the time.

Plus she's been having some low blood sugar issues in the mornings and after school
(read: mean, nasty and can't control her emotions). 

not eating + low blood sugar + painful expander = total craziness

But we're getting there. Eating is better. It's not really painful for her (she has a pretty high pain tolerance I think).  She talks funny and it's really cute. I think it will also end her thumb sucking for good which wouldn't be so bad, but it does make me a little sad.

And simply for your viewing pleasure:
Ted found this in the skit closet at Ben's office and he has already declared he will wear it for Halloween 2015.

march & april

The end of March and the beginning of April has been busy, but not crazy. For that I very thankful. Here are some highlights, although not terrible fascinating - except for the first one.

• A big thing on the horizon is a brand new Young Life Camp here in the great state of West Virginia. Young Life has options to purchase several pieces of land on the Gauley River Gorge that will be the next premier Young Life Resort. We've raised $3.75 million of the $5 million needed to purchase the land by this Summer. This is a BIG DEAL for Young Life, West Virginia and YL in West Virginia. We are part of some fundraising events happening and it is huge and fun and awesome!
  
• In way less exciting news, Spring has sprung and it is AWESOME! We have some new kids in our end of the neighborhood which is great for everyone. Our basketball hoop in the back alley has become an after school gathering place. Bikes and scooters are all over the neighborhood and I love it.
  
• Lent is over so I'm back to social media and Ben is back on the Diet Coke. Much less than before for both of us I'm happy to report. The kids gave up sweets for approximately 4 days of Lent. They gave it a valiant effort - kind of.
  
• I have been working on a huge project at church called "Church Has Left the Building" (CLB). We totally stole the idea from our sister church River Ridge in Charleston and Teays Valley. On May 3rd, instead of having our two services, we're going into the community to serve at over 30 projects for various people and organizations. I'm the chief of that so it's been a big undertaking - especially for the first year of it. I'm really and excited (and nervous) about the whole thing.
  
• March Madness is over. It was a good one this year. If Wisconsin would've won the championship, I would've won the brackets with all the leaders. Oh well. Ted got 2nd I believe. Some highlights from our basketball days were:
• Ted about a coach: "Oh man, I just read that guys lips."
• Sophie: "Do they call it March Madness because people get mad at their brackets?"
• The Lowe's commercials
• The Barles Charkley & Mars Blackman commercial
• Letting Ted stay up late a LOT to watch games.
  
•  Sophie has become the expiration date police on absolutely everything. Really, we don't have enough refrigerator or cabinet space that anything sits too long to go bad. I'm kind of fascinated by this new side of her.
  
• Way too many times lately I've wanted to pin a note to my kids' clothes that says, "Dear Everyone, I gave them the weather report. They dressed themselves."
  
• Ted had his 2nd round of strep throat for the winter and a 3 day knock-out by the flu. We made it until March without any sickness. I call that a raging success.

We were in New Martinsville for about 24 hours over Easter. They kids made some serious cash on several egg hunts and even had some wildlife carry off eggs left out too long.

This tree fell in my parents backyard so they had some fun posing for some pictures.

Ben got to hang with Henry at the state basketball tournament. 

The kid's facial expressions are priceless.

Do you see my calender from Saturday, March 21st?

"Nothing planned. Tap to create." 

We had TWO Saturdays like that in March. It was amazing.

That's my Walmart Savings Catcher. We're friends.

Coloring some Easter eggs. Ted has since received a haircut - it was a little out of control for awhile.

We got to hang out with sweet baby Reed in New Martinsville.

The kids sure do love him!

And they love his toys too.

My brother is a great dad. I sure am proud of him.

Sophie had to do a timeline at school of major life events in her short 6.5 years. Cutting her hair off for locks of love was one of them. I honestly was shocked to remember how long it used to be. This is when she was when she was 3.5.

Oh my gosh - this face!

So here we are, the middle of April. We paid WV state taxes yesterday, have turned off the furnace and are outside every chance we get.